Important Links

Overview

The Developing a Working Alliance Course is designed to build on the foundation of critical reflection on both counselling theory and processes, as well as appreciation for the both client and counsellor cultural identities and social locations, established in GCAP 631 and 633. In this course, the focus will shift to translating conceptual understanding into applied practice skills. The course supports critical analysis of the nature of the working alliance between counsellor and client and its role in the counselling process. Students will learn how to develop and maintain a culturally-responsive and socially just working alliance. They will also master the intentional use of counselling microskills and techniques to define client problems and identify preferred outcomes.

Outline

Spring Online Lessons

Lesson 1: Culturally Responsive and Socially Just Working Alliance

Lesson 2: The Practice of Engagement and Listening for Client Meaning

Lesson 3: Responding to and Co-constructing Meaning

Lesson 4: Describing Problems and Preferences

Summer Institute Lessons

The summer institute portion of the course runs for seven days, with 36 hours of direct face-to-face instruction.

Lesson 5: Preparing for Practice

Lesson 6: Foundations for Collaboration

Lesson 7: Receiving and Reading Meaning

Lesson 8: Privileging Client Meanings

Lesson 9: Responding to Meaning

Lesson 10: Tracking Meaning

Lesson 11: Describing Problems and Preferences

Lesson 12: Locating the Problem

Lesson 13: Assessing Challenges and Competencies

Lesson 14: Attending to the Wider Context I

Lesson 15: Attending to the Wider Context II

Evaluation

To receive credit for GCAP 671, students must submit all of the course assignments, achieve a minimum grade of "B-" (70%) on Assignment 6, and obtain a composite grade of at least B- (70%) on the course. The weighing of the composite grade is as follows:

Course Materials

Course Texts

Other Resources

All other course materials are available online.

Other Information

Students with a disability, who require academic accommodation, need to register with the Access to Students with Disabilities Centre at Athabasca University. Notification of the need for academic accommodation must normally be provided to the program office no later than fourteen (14) days prior to the first day of class. It is the student's responsibility to register with the Disability Centre to request academic accommodation if required and to notify the instructor that such accommodation has been requested. Every reasonable effort will be made to accommodate individual student needs. However, because GCAP courses are paced, all student are required to participate weekly in the online discussion forums. There are also several courses where online exams are required.

Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice.